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‘This plot is mine’

ISLAMABAD: The case of a ‘controversial’ sale of land in the diplomatic enclave was referred to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) by the Supreme Court on Thursday.

The controversy pertained to an allotment of a plot by Capital Development Authority (CDA) to MNA Hamid Yar Hiraj. It was earlier challenged by a principal of a school Shabnum Ashraf, who alleged that CDA allotted the plot to the MNA under political pressure, after she had won the bid when it was auctioned.

On the hand, CDA claimed that it had carefully followed the procedure in the allotment of plot to the MNA, who is also the chairperson of Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (Erra).

The three-member bench of the apex court comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday heard the case and recommended the case to IHC. Chief Justice asked the IHC to settle the dispute within two months.

Furthermore, the MNA alleged that Ashraf had occupied a football ground near her school in the diplomatic enclave. “A show cause notice has already been served to the complainant (Shabnum Ashraf) for using commercial land for private usage,” he said.

In the written reply submitted to the Supreme Court, CDA, too, claimed that the authority served Ashraf notices over ‘non-confirming use of CDA land time to time’. “She has also accepted an alternate plot in the sector D-12 for her school. It not understandable why she approached the court over this matter,” CDA held in its statement.

However, Ashraf said that after receiving ‘nominal’ dues, CDA had allotted the ‘costly’ plot in diplomatic enclave to Hiraj. “The influential MNA even did not apply for the plot but even then he was accommodated,” Ashraf’s lawyer told the court. Hiraj contended that he had submitted an application for the purpose and also paid an amount for two acres plot to CDA. Hiraj said that out of the total cost of Rs70.5 million, he had already paid around Rs40.5 million to CDA.